I'll always be here
by LazaPie
Summary: settling into her snug bed, Rainbow rises to find Scootaloo under her cloud house wounded, physically and in the heart. Rainbow Dash confronts the tough filly and learns something dark she couldn't imagine about Scoot's background only to get herself involved in something she feels, for the first time, she can do nothing about and her loyalty towards Scootaloo grows and shatters.
1. Enduring the cold

**Lazer Beam is here! and welcome to my darkened mind of imagination…..**

"Ahhhh…" Rainbow Dash yawned as she crawled under the covers on her cloud bed, listening to the snowstorm rage on outside her bedroom. Laying her head down on one of the many pillows, she pulled the sheets up past her shoulders and snuggled up against a pillow. Holding it to her chest tightly, she smiled contentedly as the soft pillow caressed her fur. Settling into a more comfortable position under her sheets, she began to relax as the sheets warmed her up. Excited for what was sure to be a fun time playing in the snow with her friends tomorrow morning, she closed her eyes to try and fall asleep.

But moments after she closed her eyes, she heard something, something apart from the sounds of the terrible storm raging away outside. Cracking her eyes open, she could barely make out the sound of somepony crying somewhere under her house. She could have sworn her mind was playing tricks on her, but she still sat up all the same. Her ears flicked every which way. Soon, the sound brushed past them again, sparking a faint sense of familiarity with its sound. Yet the cyan mare just couldn't seem to place its owner.

_Now, which one of my crazy friends would be out in a storm like this?_ Rainbow thought to herself as she irritably tossed the covers off with a wing. She slid out of the bed and trudged over to her bedroom window, sleepily undoing the latch that kept it shut. Pushing the window up with a hoof, she poked her head out, only to get a face full of snow. She shook the snow from her mane and looked down, barely making out the small form of a filly trudging past her house away from Ponyville. "What the…" Rainbow muttered to herself before yelling, "Hey! Yo, down there!" She waited for the filly to look up, but either she ignored her or she didn't hear her.

Glancing back at her warm bed that she desperately wanted to get back to, she was slightly more curious as to why some young filly was going for a midnight adventure in a snowstorm. Who knew, maybe it was one of the Cutie Mark Crusaders trying to get their cutie mark in becoming an ice cube? Whether or not that was the case, Rainbow knew that she really should go see what was wrong. Bracing herself for the freezing cold, she quickly grabbed a light green scarf and wrapped it around her neck. Then, without wasting another second, she leapt out of the window, silently gliding down towards the distraught pony.

When she neared the filly, she realized that it was none other than Scootaloo. _Why the hay is she out at a time like this?_ Flapping her wings to land in front of the mourning filly, she called out again, "Scoots, what the hay are you doing out here? It's freezing!" The young pony didn't respond as she kept walking towards her. Rainbow cocked her head to the side in confusion, something just didn't sit right with her.

"Scoots! Hey! What are you-" She yelled through the wind just as Scootaloo unknowingly walked into her. As the shivering filly dazedly looked up at her in confusion, Rainbow saw a huge, ugly, red bump on her face, right beside her right ear. Her eyes going wide and her tone heavy with anger and worry, she yelled, "Scoots! What the hay happened to–" but she was cut off when Scootaloo suddenly grabbed her foreleg tightly, as if she was holding on to it for dear life.

Rainbow was taken aback; she had never before seen Scootaloo act this way; the younger pegasus had always been that confident and brave little filly, unafraid of anything in her path. Kind of like her, in a way. But this? This was a side of Scootaloo she'd never seen before. Holding a wing behind the frigid filly to block the brunt of the biting, cold wind, she stuttered, "Umm… there, there, Scoots… Everything's alright…" She wasn't quite sure to handle this, both from not being sure what to say and from the freezing cold wind blowing past them, jarring her concentration.

"No, no it's not!" Scootaloo sobbed, choking out her words suddenly as she shivered uncontrollably from the cold wind. "I can't go home anymore; I can't take it anymore!"

"Why? What's wrong?" Rainbow asked in concern. "How'd you get that huge bruise on your head?"

"My parents got into another fight, and it's all my fault..." Scootaloo stuttered in between her sobs, clutching Rainbow's leg tighter in a vain effort to try and get even the smallest amount of warmth from it.

"No, it's not your fault, Scoots. Come on, let's get out of the cold, and we'll figure out your little problem," Rainbow said as she smiled warmly down at the filly holding onto her. As Scootaloo slowly looked up, their eyes met, and Rainbow saw nothing but pain, grief, and...hope? With an encouraging smile, Rainbow picked up the shivering filly and placed her on her back, right in front of the bases of her wings. "Hold on!" she yelled over her shoulder as she took off, flying in fluid circles up towards her house.

Quickly landing on her porch, Rainbow pushed the front door open and trotted back inside,escorting the filly inside, smiling as a relieving wave of heat washed over the two of them. Sitting down, Rainbow let the freezing filly slide off of her back and onto the soft and warm cloud that made up her floor. Quickly closing the front door, she led Scootaloo into her house, towards the kitchen. Looking down at her young friend, she softly asked, "Hey, how does some hot chocolate sound, Scoots? You want some?"

"Yeah… yeah, that'd be nice," Scootaloo said, following her into the kitchen. She climbled up into a vacant seat and sat down, grateful to be out of the cold. She was still shivering, though, and she was just about to ask if Rainbow had any blankets when Rainbow suddenly piled several of them on her.

Tightly wrapping the blankets around the young filly, Rainbow smiled and asked, "Those enough, squirt? Or do you need more?"

Scootaloo waited a second to respond as the blankets piled upon her started to warm up, abolishing the cold from her coat. "I- I think these'll be enough," Scootaloo replied through chattering teeth, smiling slightly. She pulled the blankets closer to her and wrapped them around her hooves. Having walked in the snow for who knows how long, her hooves were absolutely freezing. Breathing on her forehooves in an effort to warm them up, Scootaloo waited somewhat patiently as her idol made them some hot chocolate.

A couple minutes later, Rainbow sat down next to her, balancing two mugs of steaming hot chocolate on her back. Setting them down on the table before them, Rainbow pushed one of the mugs in front of her.

"Careful squirt, it's still pretty hot," Rainbow said as she wrapped her hooves around the warm mug. "So, why don't we start from the beginning, okay?" As she raised the mug to her lips to take a sip, she suddenly felt a cold draft run over her. "Ugh, hang on a sec, I left a window open upstairs."

"O- okay," Scootaloo replied, mimicking Rainbow's actions, wrapping her hooves around the warm mug.

Getting up from her seat, Rainbow trotted upstairs and closed the window, but the damage was already done; her room was now freezing. Gritting her teeth in annoyance, she cranked up the heat in the house and went back down to the kitchen, where Scootaloo was calmly sipping away at her drink.

"Alrighty then, what's up?" Rainbow asked as she sat down. She raised the mug to her lips and took a sip, smiling contentedly as the sweet liquid caressed her taste buds. She looked down at the young filly beside her and patiently waited for her to begin.

"Do you promise not to tell anypony?" She waited until Rainbow nodded silently. "I… I messed up good this time," Scootaloo started, albeit a little hesitantly. "I can't go home anymore..."

"What? Of course you can, squirt. Your parents still love you, and they're probably worried sick trying to find you right now."

"No, they're not!" Scootaloo exclaimed, hitting her hooves on the table, startling Rainbow and making their cups bounce. She took a few moments to calm down, and then she explained, "My… _parents_," she spat the word out hatefully, "drink everyday, and I want so badly to go out and do things with them, but they are always too drunk to go anywhere! All they do is lay on the couch and do nothing all day! The only thing that they say to me is "'Hey, grab me another drink!'"

"Scootaloo, I… I…" Rainbow murmured as she started to realize the gravity of the filly's situation.

Going on as if Rainbow hadn't said anything, Scootaloo continued her rant. "All I want is for us to be a happy family; is that really too much to ask for?" She choked up a little bit as the tears started to flow again. "Every time Apple Bloom and Sweetie Belle go home, they're going home to loving families, to those who are happy to see them. For me, I'm lucky if one of my parents even notices me when I come home! I can't even remember the last time they said they loved me!" She wiped the tears from her eyes and continued, letting a little anger into her voice. "And today was the last straw. I couldn't stand it anymore; I- I had to do something!" Looking back up at her idol, she said, "Rainbow, all I wanted was to have a happy family, you have to understand that I didn't want any of this to happen!"

"What did you do? I mean, it couldn't have been that bad… right?" Rainbow asked a little unsurely, cocking her head to the side with a nervous smile. When Scootaloo didn't respond, she took a more serious pose and softly asked, "What did you do?"

"I got rid of the source of the problem," Scootaloo said angrily as she stared straight ahead, gripping her mug tighter.

"Wait, you didn't-"

"Yes, I did. I poured almost all of their supply, over fourteen bottles worth, down the drain before my parents stopped me. I tried to tell them that I wanted all of us to be a happy family and that the alcohol was poisoning their minds, but they wouldn't listen. They only got angrier and angrier, and I don't know if it was from the alcohol or from their rage, but my dad, he… he…" Scootaloo winced as what happened flashed through her mind. "He started throwing the empty bottles at me, calling me a useless piece of trash that wouldn't amount to anything. I tried to dodge them all, but one finally hit me," Scootaloo said as she felt the large bruise on her head. "After that, I ran. I ran for I don't know how long, and I had no idea where I was going."

"Heh, I guess you're lucky that you went under my house," Rainbow teased gently, nudging her with a wing. "Otherwise, you'd have probably gotten your cutie mark in becoming the first frozen filly!" She said, trying her hardest to make her young friend smile, and to her immense relief, she did.

"Yeah, I don't know what the others would say about that," Scootaloo replied with a small giggle as she finished her drink. As Rainbow started snickering, the two of them started laughing, until they were both laughing uproariously at the absurdity of the idea. As they settled down a minute later, Scootaloo continued, "Anyways, if it's okay with you, can I…"

"Can you what?" Rainbow asked as she finished the rest of the drink. She set the mug back down and looked at Scootaloo, waiting for her to finish her sentence.

"Can I stay here for the night? I don't know where else I could go…" Scootaloo asked as she pulled the blankets to her tighter, looking up hopefully at the mare beside her.

"Of course you can, squirt! Like I'd throw out a friend…" She said, feigning being offended. She gave her a playful nudge, eliciting a small smile from the filly. "I'll go get the guest room ready…" Rainbow got up from her seat and started to walk away, but was stopped a moment later.

"Wait!" Scootaloo exclaimed, holding out an outstretched hoof in Rainbow's direction. She let the blankets fall from her shoulders, making her shiver slightly. "I mean…" She glanced from side to side nervously with her large eyes before she continued, "Can I… can I sleep with you? I don't want to be alone right now…"

Even though she was taken aback a little, Rainbow said gently, "Of- of course, squirt." She trotted back over to where she was sitting and said softly, "Come on, let's get to bed, then. I'm sure you're pretty tired after what happened today, huh?"

"Hehe yeah, maybe a little bit," Scootaloo replied as her small frame was suddenly wracked by a large yawn. The two of them silently walked upstairs and into Rainbow's bedroom, which by now was nice and toasty. Rainbow hopped onto the bed and laid down on her stomach, making herself comfortable. Looking up, she saw Scootaloo standing nervously at the foot of her bed.

"Hey, whatcha waiting for, Scoots?" Rainbow asked, lifting a welcoming wing, motioning for the filly to join her.

"No- nothing," she stammered as she started to climb onto the bed. As her hoof sunk deeper and deeper into the mattress, she paused in confusion. She looked up at Rainbow and was just about to ask why the mattress was so plushy when her question was answered for her.

"It's a cloud mattress, squirt; that's why it's so soft," Rainbow explained as she fought back a yawn, but to no avail. As she gave a rather loud yawn, she suddenly felt something warm press up against her side. Looking down, she saw that Scootaloo had curled up next to her, pressing her coat against hers. Smiling contentedly, she flicked her tail so that it fell around the filly. Pulling the sheets up around them, she laid a wing over Scootaloo and pulled her a little closer.

"Hey, Rainbow?" Scootaloo whispered softly as the blissful warmth emanating from Rainbow and the blankets slowly lulled her to sleep.

"Yeah?" Rainbow murmured as she lay her head down on the pillows.

"I just want to say… thanks, f-f-for everything," came her soft response.

"Anytime, Scoots… anytime,I promise, no matter what, I'll always be here," Rainbow whispered back as the wounded filly slowly drifted off to sleep, and melted Rainbow's heart.

** -The Abyss**

**Hey, it's no longer Dani, but a different writer her for you today! Alright, so if you would like more just ask, and it will be DONE *bright eyes* I think this is alright on it's own… But if you want me to continue, once again, your choice!**

**Lazer Beam out! Bye Bolterz**


	2. The confrontation

"Mmmm… so warm…" Rainbow groaned when she slowly woke up. Shifting into a more comfortable position, she pulled a rather warm pillow closer to her chest, smiling in content as its warmth slowly seeped into her. As she started to fall back asleep, she let out a soft sigh as the warmth from the pillow and her covers nearly lulled her back into the world of dreams. Feeling a sudden cold draft of air, she pulled the covers up past her shoulders, and to her alarm, the pillow in her embrace suddenly twitched.  
As confusion started to gnaw at her mind, Rainbow begrudgingly cracked an eye open and looked down. Seeing a small tuft of purple mane coming from under the edge of the covers, she slowly pushed the edge of the blanket up with a wing, revealing not a pillow, but Scootaloo curled up against her soft chest, Rainbow's wings wrapped under and around her in a protective, peaceful and comforting barrier of warmth. She watched in admiration as the filly's barrel rose and fell with every small yet deep breath she took. Joyous that the tormented filly could have at least one good night of sleep, Rainbow smiled and laid the covers back down over the two of them, while trying as much as possible not to disturb the young filly.  
Just as she was about to lay her head once more on her comfy cloud pillow to try and get a couple more hours of sleep, she felt Scootaloo squirm again. Sitting up, she watched in amusement as Scootaloo struggled out of Rainbow's wings and wrestling with the comforter as the pegasus pushed the covers off with a hoof, rubbing her eyes groggily. With bleary eyes, the filly looked around the room, confused by the unfamiliar surroundings.  
"What the…"  
"Scoots…" Rainbow said softly. "You stayed the night at my place, remember? You don't have anything to worry about..." Scootaloo's head whipped around in shock at the sound of the unexpected voice. As soon as her gaze met the cyan coat, magenta eyes, and brilliant rainbow main of her idol, she calmed down quickly, settling back down onto the bed.  
"Oh, yeah…guess I kinda forgot, huh?" Scootaloo asked with a nervous laugh. She stood up and stretched her legs and wings, letting loose a loud yawn a few moments later. As she twisted her neck to work out the kinks, her stomach released a loud grumble.  
"Hehe, is somepony hungry?" Rainbow teased as she unwrapped her once again folded wings of the filly and tossed the rest of the covers off of her.  
"Umm...maybe a little…" Scootaloo said as her stomach released another loud grumble. "I… I didn't have dinner last night…"  
"Wait, what?" Rainbow asked in shock. "Why not? Please tell me your parents at least feed you!" Rainbow Dash stared at the small pony for a moment, as she intended to do so until she got a reply.  
Scootaloo picked at the cloud floor for a few seconds before she responded. "They, umm…no, not all the time... Or any of the times" Scootaloo meekly said as she shuffled one of her forelegs. "I always have to either snatch something from the house or eat at one of my friend's houses, not that my house has anything aside from sickening drugs or Alcohol." She glanced up at Rainbow and recoiled slightly at the mare's angry expression.

"Woah woah woah, let me get this straight," Rainbow said darkly, her tone heavy with rage. "Your parents don't feed you?!"  
"...No, not really…"  
Rainbow didn't respond as she stared wide-eyed at the filly. Anger coursed through her veins; she couldn't believe what she had just heard. This young filly, who had so much raw talent, was wasting away because of two horrible parents. What if she can't fly because… NO! Rainbow couldn't finish that thought. There was no way that Scootaloo's mom could have been that irresponsible. It was common knowledge that if somepony drank alcohol while pregnant, the foal could be born with some serious defects, like being born with underdeveloped wings. With that realization, everything suddenly clicked into place. There was no way that she was going to stand by and do nothing. She had to do something about this.

"come now, Scoots, we are going to have a little _talk_, with your parents." Rainbow spoke bitterly, and Scootaloo cringed at the consequence.

After Rainbow bought the two of them some big chocolate chip muffins from Sugarcube Corner, Scootaloo led Rainbow through the snow back to her house to have a little 'talk' with her parents. The snow storm from last night had deposited a nicely-sized layer of snow over the town, making everything glisten from the bright, shining sun. Even though everypony else was having a blast in the new snow, Rainbow's mind was elsewhere. She was on a mission, and she was going to set Scootaloo's parents straight. But seeing as this was the first time actually going to the little filly's house, Scootaloo had to show them the way. As they walked further and further from the town, Rainbow began to wonder how much further they had to go.  
As if she was reading Rainbow's thought's, Scootaloo spoke up. "It's just right around the corner…" And true to her words, her house, if it could be called that, popped up from behind a thick grove of trees. Most of the windows were cracked, and it literally looked as if it was about to fall apart. The wooden fence surrounding the property seemed like nopony had fixed it in ages, and debris littered the whole place, empty boxes of smashed liquor decorated the place. This house's scent seemed to have melted the snow, it looked asif the half melted snow was green and decaying.  
As they walked closer and closer to the dilapidated structure, Rainbow winced. Scoots lives here? No way… no bucking way… Cocking an eyebrow, she glanced down at the filly and asked, "...you're joking right?" She prayed to Celestia that she was.  
Scootaloo's shoulders slumped slightly before she responded. "No, I'm not… Come on, I'll let us in…" The two of them climbed the the two stairs that led to the front door and she gently pushed it open.  
As they walked inside, Rainbow thought, You know, maybe her parents aren't that bad… Her thoughts were rudely broken as a horrible stench filled her nostrils; the entire house smelled like garbage.  
"About damn time you got back, you worthless filly! I hope you know yer in big heaps o' trouble for that little stunt you pulled yesterday!" came a deep, male voice from just around the corner.  
"Umm, Dad? There's somepony here to see you," Scootaloo called back, her tone heavy with fear.  
"What?! Who the hell is it?" the same voice called back angrily.  
Or maybe they are…. Rainbow thought angrily as she stomped around the corner, Scootaloo following right behind her. "Hey, how dare you talk to your daughter that way!" she yelled roughly at the two ponies lazing about on the two couches in the room. Scootaloo's father, a brown earth pony, glanced up from his position and suddenly scrambled to his hooves, glaring at the newcomer.  
"I can talk to my daughter any which way ah please! And who in the hay just might you be?" Scootaloo's father drawled. His thick, drunken accent made it difficult for Rainbow to understand him, and he reeked of alcohol, which made her reel back in disgust.  
"I'm Rainbow Dash, one of your daughter's caretakers and friends!" The cyan pegasus replied, hardly offended at the other pony's attitude. She took a slightly aggressive stance, flaring her wings in an effort to make herself look as fearsome as possible. Her irises shrunken small and vengeful. Scootaloo shifted closer to her, pushing herself up against her right hind leg, cowering for the first time Rainbow saw.  
"Our daughter? Oh, you mean that worthless, no good, flightless filly that's always causing us trouble?" Scootaloo's mother, a light green pegasus, replied haughtily from her position on her couch.  
"She's NOT useless," Rainbow shot back as her tone filled with anger. "This filly has much more talent in one hoof than the two of you combined! If you spent even a few minutes with her you'd realize that!"  
"Hah! Do you even know what she did yesterday?" The mother took a large swig of the half-empty bottle that she had in her hoof, coughing as the dark liquid burned her throat.  
"Yeah, she told me AFTER you guys attacked her and drove her out into one of the worst snow storms of the season ever!" Rainbow yelled back. "Hell, I found her crying under my bucking house in the middle of the night!"  
"So?" The father asked. "She can fend fo–"  
"So? SO? Don't you even care about your daughter?" Rainbow screamed at the two excuses for parents and ponies in front of her. She felt Scootaloo latch on to her hind leg and squeeze, but that didn't stop her from continuing her rant. "If I hadn't found her, she could have frozen to death!"

" We take better care 'o' her than the stupid, blithering filly realizes! Hell!, we gave her bucking alcohol and she didn't accept it! We had to force it down her throat until all five the bucking bottles were empty! And by time she did finish all she did was scream and puke! For that she deserved punishment. Last night's so called storm was no more than that meaningless twit can handle!"

Rainbow Dash took a step back and angrily charged forward towards Scoots Parents.

"Yeah! And ,Well, we didn't make her run away!" Scootaloo's mother replied as she stood up to stand muzzle to muzzle with Rainbow. Rainbow would be angrier yet if it weren't for the way the Pegasus before her stood.  
"Yeah you did! Do you know why she did what she did?" Rainbow growled as she stomped her front hooves on the floor angrily.  
"Yeah, she hates us!" Scootaloo's father replied from behind his wife.  
"NO! No, she doesn't! Scootaloo got rid of your alcohol because it's turned both of you into pathetic excuses for ponies! All she wants is a happy family like the rest of her friends, but your obsession with drinking has completely ruined that for her!"  
"Please, that stupid filly–" Scootaloo's mother managed to say before Rainbow's hoof connected with her jaw, knocking her to the ground in a heap.  
"Don't you DARE talk about Scoots like that!" Rainbow yelled in a fit of rage at the fallen pony. Looking up at the earth pony, she growled, "Don't you dare get up, or you'll get what she just got!" She breathed heavily as she waited for Scootaloo's mother to get up. She beat her hoof on the wooden floor as if she was about to charge at her, but Scootaloo suddenly tightened her grip on her leg.  
"Rainbow, it's…it's okay…" Scootaloo muttered, casting her gaze towards the floor.  
"No it's not!" Rainbow said softening her gaze toward the filly, than stone cold back toward her father. She turned her attention back to the earth pony and said, "Scootaloo's gonna live with me for a while; she deserves so much better than..." she gestured around the room. "This!"  
"Haha hell no! What gives you the right to take our daughter from us?" the father asked haughtily. "Nothing, that's what! She's staying here with us, and there's absolutely nothing you can do about it." Turning his attention to Scootaloo, he barked, "Go up to your room; I'll be up later to punish you."  
"Buck that! Come on, Scoots, let's get outta here; you're coming with me!" Rainbow said as she motioned for Scootaloo to leave. She trotted towards the door and threw it open with a wing. Hearing a sniffle, she looked back in concern and saw that Scootaloo hadn't moved from her spot. "Uhh...Scoots? Are y–you coming?" she asked, fearing the slight possibility that she wasn't going to go with her.  
"I...I can't," Scootaloo sniffled, trying to hold back her tears. "Things would just get worse if I went with you…" She turned away from her and dejectedly started walking up the stairs towards her bedroom, her head hung low in defeat.  
"Wha… Scoots?" Rainbow asked hesitantly as she watched her disappear around the corner at the top of the stairs.  
"Now, I think it's time for you to leave, you," the father said as he started pushing Rainbow out of his house.  
"I'll be back later!" Rainbow yelled as she was roughly shoved out onto the front porch. "And if I find out that you laid a bucking hoof on her, I'll beat you so hard nopony will be able to recognize you!"  
"She's mah property, I can do whatever I...whatever I want," Scootaloo's father said in a menacing tone. "And if I ever see you come back around here again, I'll have you thrown in jail!" He slammed the door behind him with a resounding thud.

Rainbow stuck around long enough to hear a bottle smash against the door behind her.

"Nopony deserves the sort of bullcrap you put her through. Nopony!" Rainbow yelled at the closed door. It stung her, being rejected by Scootaloo, like a bush of prickles, piercing her back, like some-pony stomping hard down on it, only it hurt more than that, it hurt her somewhere else, and Rainbow could only squirm beneath the Greif and sorrow, changing her emotion back to a boiling rage. Flapping her wings, she angrily took off, making a beeline for the library. "_I know who I need_" Rainbow Dash muttered cooly under her breath. She bolted away from the house of horrors and thought only of getting the help from a pony who could set this right,

**_alright, chapter two is finished! For now at least, any thing you have for me to use in chapter 3? Thanx 4 all the feed back and whatnot from the first chapter BTW! Alright, until next time! Lazer Beam out!_**


	3. A Shocking Discovery

After a couple tense minutes of flying, Rainbow saw her goal on the horizon. Knowing that time was of the essence, she flapped her wings harder and harder, Ignoring the gnawing pain growing in her muscles and increasing her speed as she rocketed over the roofs of Ponyville. Seeing the front of the library come into view several blocks down the street, she lowered her altitude and flew straight down the middle of the road. She silently thanked Celestia that nopony was walking about, as she was in no mood to answer questions at the moment.

As block after block rushed past her, she flared her wings to start slowing down. She flapped her wings as hard as she could to lower her airspeed, but quickly realized that she didn't have enough distance to do so. "Oh, ponyfeathers..."

A moment later, she slammed into the door with a loud thud, knocking it clean off its hinges. The door slammed onto the floor of the library, and slid several feet before it came to a stop with a loud screeching sound. Picking herself up off the broken door, Rainbow shook her head and dusted herself off. She looked back at what used to be the doorway and winced.

The door frame was wrecked. The places where the hinges had connected to the door were splintered apart, leaving the door frame in need of some major repairs. Turning back towards the broken door, Dash bent down to pick it up and prop it against the wall. Just as she had finished, Twilight's bedroom door slammed open, making her jump.

"Who the… Rainbow! How many doors are you going to destroy before you learn to _not_ do that?!" Twilight angrily asked as she stomped down the steps. Upon reaching the bottom, she lit her horn, lifted the door back up and placed it back into the wrecked doorframe. "It's very annoying that I have to fix my doors nearly every time you come by."

"But this is important, Twilight!" Rainbow snapped. "It's about Scoots!"

"Scootaloo? What's wrong with her? Wait…" A tiny smirk grew on her face. "Okay, what did she and the rest of the Crusaders do now?"

Twilight kept her smug smirk on her face as she sat on her little throne Cadence had made for her, and opened a book, carelessly thinking of the crusader's crazy antics.

She sat upon a throne twice the size of her, It was a faded pink, that matched her mane colour, than entered into a pearl white that sparkled slightly. And violet tips of the crystal looking structure. Beautifully designed cushions, made by rarity, cushioned her with their gold like stringing fabric. Twilight was lying on the cushions, her eager eyes searching for something in a book. Every time she flipped a page, her magic colour reflected light around the room after reflecting upon the gem in her crown.

"You Just excited to tell me they aren't going to be working with important things in the town again?"

Rainbow pulled a face, and stomped her hoof loudly on the ground ending echoes in the upper rooms.

"No, Twilight! It's about her parents! They buckin' abuse her!"

Twilight slammed her book shut and her irises shrunk.

"Wait, hold on. What?" Twilight's grin faltered.

"You won't believe what happened today! I went over to her house with her and I… and I…" Rainbow faltered as her anger got the best of her. "I left her there! Gah! How could I have been so stupid?! I gotta go back and get her!" She jumped into the air and attempted to take flight through Twilight's open bedroom window. However, something suddenly grabbed her tail, holding her in place.

Flapping her wings harder, she tried to break free, but all she accomplished was a few hairs being yanked from her tail. Relaxing slightly, she shot a pleading look back towards her friend, noticing her lit horn. "Let me go!" she shouted desperately, trying to shake herself free from Twilight's magical grasp.

"Not until you tell me what the hay's going on!" Twilight retorted, her wings bristling in apprehension. "You can't just tell me that Scootaloo is being abused and then try to leave! Come on, Rainbow! You know better than that!"

Rainbow fought for a few more moments, but soon gave up, falling to the floor in a dejected heap. "Ugh! Fine!"

"Now, Rainbow. Start from the beginning," Twilight said firmly as she levitated a couple of cushions over to the sulking and worried Pegasus. Setting them down in front of them, she rested on one and gestured for Rainbow to do the same.

"Twilight… I…" Rainbow huffed angrily as she sat down, trying to catch her breath. "You aren't going to believe this…"

"Well, I'm not going to believe anything if you don't tell me."

"Yeah, yeah, I know. Remember last night? How we had that huge snowstorm?" Rainbow started poking at her cushion as she sorted her thoughts.

"Mhm?"

"Yeah, well, just as I was about to go to bed late last night, I found Scootaloo walking underneath my house."

"Huh? What was she doing outside?" Twilight asked, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion.

"That's what I thought! So of course, me being me, I flew down to see what was up. I found her wandering around like she was walking in a daze. I called her name a couple of times, and it was like she didn't even hear me! I landed right in front of her, and she didn't even see or hear me until she walked right into me. When she finally noticed me, her eyes were glazed over. But that's not even the worst part. She had a huge bruise on her head because her parents hit her with an empty bottle!" Rainbow took a deep breath to calm her racing heart.

"Wait, Rainbow, A bottle!" Twilight said in alarm. "Did she have any trouble remembering things when you were with her?"

"Well… she didn't remember that she slept at my place when she woke up, if that counts. I mean, you would probably be the same way if you woke up in a totally different house, right?"

"Rainbow, I… I don't know," Twilight said as she shifted nervously. "How big was the bruise?"

"Umm…" Rainbow scratched the back of her head with a hoof as she thought back to last night. "Let's see…about the size of a mug? Yeah, that sounds about right."

"_About the size of a mug_?!" Twilight exclaimed.

"Yeah. So I flew her up to my place and made us some hot chocolate, and she told me… everything…" Rainbow shuddered as memories from the previous night flowed through her mind.

"Everything?" Twilight prompted as Rainbow lost herself in her thoughts.

"Oh, sorry…" The pegasus took a deep breath before she continued. "Yeah, everything. Like how her parents don't love her, how they don't take care of her, how they don't bucking feed her, _and_ how they drove her out of the house last night." Staring at the floor, Rainbow waited for Twilight to say something, but no response came. She blinked a couple times, then glanced over, jumping slightly upon seeing Twilight's expression.

Saying that Twilight had a shocked look on her face would be a huge understatement. Her left ear was twitching, her muzzle was hanging open loosely, and her eyes were wide open. "Yeah, Twilight. It's _that_ bad." Rainbow said, breaking the silence between the two of them.

"Rainbow, I... How can her parents treat her like that?"

"I don't know!" Rainbow exclaimed, flapping her wings once for emphasis. "Get this!" She shrieked, " her parents say they gave her alcohol, Twilight, They probably friggen poisoned her! And when I tried to leave, I asked Scootaloo to come with me. And you know what she said? She said no, saying that things would only get worse for her if she did!" Changing subjects, she spat out, "And also, you know why Scoots can't fly? _Huh_?"

"Umm...no, I–"

Rainbow cut her off. "Scootaloo's mom drank while she was pregnant with her."

"What? There's no way that she'd do that, Rainbow."

"Yeah? Can you explain why Scoots has underdeveloped wings?!"

"Rainbow, I–"

"_Well_?!"

"I… I don't know," Twilight said unsurely. "There's… No! Nopony would do that!"

"And you know what else? They live in a bucking dump on the outskirts of town!" Rainbow stood up once more. "Twilight, you should've seen her last night! She… she…" She trailed off as she choked on her words, her emotions getting the best of her.

Twilight was taken aback; she had never before seen such strong emotions coming from Rainbow in all the time that they'd spent together. Standing up, she unfurled her wings and pulled Rainbow into a reassuring embrace with them, giving her a small nuzzle as well. As Rainbow slowly regained her composure, the librarian sat back and confidently said, "I've heard all I need to hear, Rainbow. Let's go get her!"

Shortly after Rainbow had regained control of her emotions, the two of them had flown to Scootaloo's house. As they landed on the road just outside the dilapidated structure, Rainbow held out a hoof, motioning for Twilight to come closer.

"Twilight, listen," Rainbow said in a hushed tone. "Scootaloo's dad is–" She was cut off when they heard a high-pitched yell come from inside the house. Jumping into the air, Rainbow rocketed across the front yard and slammed through the front door, knocking it clean off its hinges. Her head whipping every which way, she tried to find the source of the yell, but was met with an eerie silence. As Twilight entered the house with her horn lit and ready for action, Rainbow galloped around the corner into the living room and found Scootaloo's mother asleep on the couch, an empty bottle of liquor in her hoof.

Rainbow ran up to the mare and violently shook her awake, making the empty bottle of liquor fall to the floor. "Where the buck is she?!" Rainbow yelled at the drunken, half-awake mare. Just then, she heard another scream come from behind her, emanating from somewhere upstairs.

"Rainbow, this way!" Twilight called out as she galloped upstairs. Noticing that there was only one closed door upstairs, she threw it open with her magic, revealing a scene that shook her core.

Scootaloo was pinned underneath her father, his hoof raised and ready to strike. Thinking quickly, Rainbow whipped him off the filly with the impact of a defensive shove and slammed him against the opposite wall. She let gravity bring him to the floor in a heap. Looking back behind her, Dash found Scootaloo cowering at the foot of her bed, holding a pillow over her head in a vain attempt to protect herself.

A moment later, Twilight burst into the room.

"Scoots! Thank Celestia you're alright!" Rainbow yelped as she booked it to the young filly.

Upon hearing Rainbow's voice, Scootaloo slowly pulled the pillow off herself and looked up. Her eyes were full of tears, her ears were pinned back, and she looked like she was on the verge of breaking down, but that wasn't what shocked Rainbow. As the pillow fell away, she noticed something terrible, something that made her heart plummet. _No. Oh no no no no…_

Both Scootaloo's wings was in ruin. She had them pinned to her side, but they was folded. The bone that made up the front of the wing was broken, making the second half of it hang awkwardly. Feathers stood out of place and bent in every way, blood trickled through the flesh under her feathers. It looked as if her father had tried to permanently ground the filly, and that made Rainbow's blood boil.

"Ra… Rainbow? Twilight? What are you doing here?" Scootaloo asked, trying to throw up a fake bravado. She wiped her eyes with a hoof, trying to hide the fact that she had been crying moments before.

Gesturing towards her hurting, trembling wing, Rainbow hissed, "Scoots, did he do this to you?" Scootaloo cast her gaze to the side and picked at the floor nervously, the venom in Dash's hushed tone making her bashful. After several seconds, the silence told Rainbow the answer that she was dreading. "He did, didn't he…" It wasn't a question. Rainbow used a hoof to gently make the filly look back up at her and asked once more, "Scootaloo, tell me; did he hurt you while I was gone?"

Scootaloo couldn't help it– she'd been holding her tears back for too long. As they made small, wet trails down her face, her facade crumbled. She nodded once and choked out, "Y– Yes…"

Rainbow quickly pulled the distraught filly into a tight hug just as she began to break down. Scootaloo wrapped her forelegs around her as she finally let go, letting out all of the pain and suffering that her father had put her through. "I'm so sorry, I never should have left you..." Rainbow murmured after a few seconds, rubbing the filly's back reassuringly. "Everything's gonna be alright, Scoots; I swear it." She glared at the earth pony, trembling in rage.

"Rainbow, you have to get her to the hospital, now," Twilight ordered as she kept an eye on the father, watching him carefully as he tried to get back up.

"Got it, Twi," Rainbow said. Crouching down, she softly said, "Hop on, squirt; we gotta get going…" With a small nod, Scootaloo shakily stood up and climbed onto Rainbow's back. As she settled down just in front of Rainbow's wings, she wrapped her forelegs around the mare's neck tightly. Standing back up, Rainbow turned and trotted out of the room, leaving Twilight alone with the father.

"So!" Twilight said in a firm and menacing tone. "Mind telling me what the hay is going on here?"

"I ain't gotta tell nopony about mah business," the father replied haughtily, slurring his words. He had no idea who it was that attacked him, but he sure wasn't going to take a hit without responding in kind. With a vicious, drunken roar, he suddenly burst up, intent on taking his anger out on the other pony in the room. As his gaze swung upwards to find his attacker, he faltered momentarily as he found said only other pony in the room, instantly recognizing who it was: Princess Twilight Sparkle.

Steeling his resolve, he drunkenly figured that it didn't matter if it was a princess or his bitch wife that had attacked him, he was going to put that pony in her place. Swinging his hoof back to strike, he suddenly gasped in surprise as he was roughly shoved onto Scootaloo's bed by a bright purple aura.

The stallion struck as forcefully as he could, and hit Twilight square in the jaw, and then again in the stomach.

The impacts knocked the breath out her rage endured lungs, and her spell weakened a little.

Her wings bristling in anger from what she had just seen the fat stallion do to his own daughter, and from almost being attacked herself, Twilight pinned the drunk stallion down, listening to his cries of anger and rage as he unsuccessfully tried to get back up. "You know, attacking a princess of Equestria is a crime that can get you at least ten years in prison. And beating your filly–"

"_You_ broke into my house and attacked me!" the stallion yelled back, cutting her off. "I was well within my rights to defend myself, and I was just in the middle of disciplining my daughter! And what the hay gives you the right to take my daughter from me?"

"I had more than enough reason to believe my friend, Rainbow, that Scootaloo was living in an abusive home," Twilight replied.

"What?! Why would you believe her?" The stallion asked incredulously, still trying to get up from under Twilight's magic. Giving up for a second, he continued, "That stupid mare broke into my house earlier and threatened me and mah wife!"

"No, she didn't!" Twilight said firmly as she stalked forward, making the stallion squirm under her intimidating gaze. "She didn't break into your house. Scootaloo let her in. And I'm much more inclined to believe Rainbow, the Element of Loyalty _and_ one of my closest friends, than a stallion who was just criminally assaulting his daughter moments ago."

"I was disciplining her!"

"For what?"

"For bringing others into mah house without my permission."

"But you just said that Rainbow broke into your house." Twilight countered, smiling smugly as she caught the stallion in a lie.

"I… I… Fine! She didn't break into mah house, but she _did_ threaten me and mah wife. And that stupid filly deserved to get disciplined!"

"Since when does disciplining somepony mean ripping apart one of their wings?!" Twilight exclaimed incredulously. She couldn't imagine the sort of pain that Scootaloo was going through right now.

"Well, she–"

"There is absolutely nothing that anypony can do that would deserve such harsh treatment like that!" Twilight cut him off. _Rainbow was right; Scootaloo's parents are way out of control!_ Seeing no other option, she continued in a cold and measured tone, "Seeing that this is no place to raise a filly, Rainbow Dash and I are going to take care of her for the time being."

"You can't do that! She's _mah_ filly. I can do whatever I want with her!"

"We'll let the princesses in Canterlot sort that out when they get here," Twilight replied. "But for now, Scootaloo is staying with us. Now, I'm going to let you up, but only if you promise to remain civil."

"...…"

The stallion remained silent, than Twi heard an ear shattering smash.

Twilight's head had suddenly filled with pain, a nausea washed over her as her eyes welled up with water. She felt herself drop, and she looked behind her. Scootaloo's mother had woken and smashed her with a very thick and heavy bottle, glass littered the floor.

Twilight released the spell holding down the stallion and watched him unsteadily return to his hooves, as she did herself. Before she could teleport to take her leave, another bottle had struck her, this one, harder than the last. Another punch at the back her head, almost knocked her down.

Wearily, Twilight vanished, using her magic.

Twilight left the house. Walking out to the main road, she turned back towards the house and lit her horn. With a quick flick of her horn, she cast the tracing spell. A small time later, she turned clumsily, and limped back home.


End file.
